Soldier's Native American Photo Collection and Service Rifle by Shuard, Private William - 1885

1885. Photograph. Very Good. Private William Shuard's Springfield 1884 Trapdoor Rifle and ten cabinet card photographs, 1880s-1890s. Photos include: 1) Shuard in full uniform holding the Springfield Trapdoor Rifle for sale with this lot. His cap device appears to show he was assigned to C Company, 18th Infantry Regiment which was stationed in Montana, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas during the 1880s and 1890s. 2) Two Native American Cavalry Troopers (not scouts) wearing sabres. Their cap devices show them to be members of Troop L, 7th Cavalry Regiment which was established in 1891 as an all Indian unit at Fort Sill composed of former Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache warriors. 3) A Ute tribal policeman in native clothes wearing his police star. 4) Sitting Bull in full headdress. Rodocker is said to have stolen this image from fellow photographer, D. F. Barry. 5) Black Crow, a Ponca chief. This image has no photographer markings. 6) Dinero Boy and his wife. As part of a Mescalero Apache raiding party, Dinero Boy and his brother Chevato kidnapped young William Lippmann in one of the most famous incidents of white children being captured by Native Americans. This photo shows Dinero Boy later in life, possibly while serving as a member of the tribal police although he wears no badge. 7) Louis Fenno, the greatest Ute artist, and his wife. Fenno was killed in 1903 by a white clerk during a gunfight at a trading post near Myton, Utah. 8 & 9) Laura Tonadlemah Doanmoe. Photos show Laura in native dress before she attended the Carlisle Indian School and in white women's clothing afterward. She was the daughter of the Kiowa war leader Red Otter and the brother of the Kiowa Head Chief Lone Wolf. Her husband, Etahdleuh Doanmoe, was a famous Kiowa artist. Laura is said to have assisted James Mooney during his study of the Kiowa for the Bureau of American Ethnology. 10) Two unidentified Native American children. All but one of the photos were sold by David Rodocker, who first opened a studio in Winfield, Kansas in 1871 and traveled throughout the west taking photos in1877, 1880, and from 1887 to 1894. Shuard's rifle is a Model 1884 "Trapdoor" Springfield. An annotation on the reverse of the photograph of Shuard states that he was "in the U.S. Army in 1899. We still have the gun." The Army began replacing the single-shot Springfields in 1898 with semi-automatic Krags, and Shuard apparently kept his old rifle after it was replaced. All of these photographs have wear and/or soiling. No tears or scuffing, however the photo of Dinero Boy has a horizontal crease, and the image of Sitting Bull is somewhat overexposed. All, but two, have pencil annotations on the reverse made by a Shuard family member. The rifle is functional and in very good shape with original parts, proper markings, and much of its original finish. The serial number was lightly stamped and is only partially readable; it appears to begin with the numbers '27' indicating it was put in service in 1885. Shuard has scratched his initial "S" into the stock. (This rifle is classified as an "Antique Firearm" as it was manufactured before 1898. Therefore, it can be bought, sold, mailed, or otherwise transferred directly between individuals anywhere in the United States (including California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Illinois, and Rhode Island) without any registration, waiting period, records check, or other paperwork and without being routed through a Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealer. Not available for shipment outside of the United States. The photographs and rifle were purchased from Shuard's great, great, great grandniece in 2013 by a Baltimore antique dealer. I purchased the lot from the Baltimore antique dealer in 2014. I can provide more information upon request.